Lionel Messi and Angel di María combine late on to banish Argentina’s fears

It’s becoming a boringly familiar sight in this World Cup; a stodgy Argentina side, shackled by good opposing defensive play but lacking ideas for most of the game, suddenly bailed out by yet another spark of genius from Lionel Messi.

Of course, as familiar sights go, one of history’s greatest players surging past defenders isn’t actually all that boring.

But it continues a trend for Argentina; they’ve yet to convince in this World Cup, and while no side have yet started to look like out-and-out favourites in a very open tournament, Messi’s side haven’t even turned in one genuinely impressive performance yet.

There are two principal reasons for optimism still, though; first, the fact that when all is said and done, they’re in the quarter-finals, where they’ll take on Belgium on Saturday, and secondly the suspicion that they’re one decent spell, perhaps just a few good passes and a bit of confidence recovered, away from clicking at last in attack.

As long as you’re in the tournament, you have a chance of winning it

If they’re to stop relying on Messi, though, it might require an opposing side to be daft enough to come out and attack them, leaving the space at the back that Argentina are set up to exploit; so far, it’s become clear, they’re not sure of how to work through a deep-lying defence.

In Buenos Aires, few fans are too concerned about that point though.

Argentina dominated statistically, they insist, and with a little more luck they might have been home and dry a lot sooner; Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio had a very good case for the man of the match award (which FIFA actually gave to Messi).

As long as you’re in the tournament still, you have a chance of winning it, and Argentina have now reached the quarter-finals for the third consecutive time; many fans look at the fact they have yet to truly impress and remind me that winning whilst playing poorly is the form of champions.

Perhaps Ángel Di María’s late winning goal will be the spark the Real Madrid man needs to ignite his own confidence; he didn’t play well at all against Switzerland, but finished well to ensure his side wouldn’t face the nerves of a penalty shootout.

And events after that goal – the incredible header against the post followed by a point-blank miss from Swiss substitute Blerim Dzemaili – have sparked (yet another) wave of memes by Argentine Twitter users reminding us that the Pope is Argentine and that, just maybe, this team have a little divine intervention on their side.

Surely, though, most fans will be hoping that Saturday’s performance will be a little less reliant on late help from above.